Recently, at his Maryland home in the US, the former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, spoke exclusively to the Vanguard on his tenure, the Nigerian impending Constitutional crisis, following the President’s disappearance, his expectations from his former colleagues in the National Assembly, and  his reformist agenda inside his own PDP ruling party. Excerpts:
As a Senate President, what did you specifically contribute to the nation, or what did you do to uplift the nation during your tenure?

My colleagues and I did what we were sent to do. We were not there to execute projects; that is the function of the executive. My specific contributions as the President as a measure in to uplift the nation are there for the records.

Rule of law is not just about obeying court order but about observing it. Again, I believe that too much resources were spent paying our foreign debts.

That was a misguided way of spending the people’s money. Every country owes money; even a wealthy country like the United States of America owes money to other countries.

Why can’t Nigeria owe money to other countries and still hold her head up? Our primary concern should have been to put our house in order, to improve our economy and provide jobs, electricity, roads, and water for our people.

But instead we insisted on paying back all our debts. Where has that got us? Are we not still today where we were before?

While I worry about our government, I also worry about our media. Where are our media? What have the media done? Why have they lost their investigative mindset?

On things that most concern Nigerians, the media have been distant, not active, not probing enough. Look at what is going on in our country today.

Shouldn’t the members of the Nigerian media be camped in the deserts of Saudi Arabia ? Should they be taking pictures and showing Nigerians what is actually happening to their president? Shouldn’t they know his whereabouts?

To whom much is given, much is expected. Nigerians expect this much of their media; as of now, they are getting less. One picture taken of the president or even the presidential jet sitting idle in the tarmac in Saudi Arabia could have told Nigerians what they wanted to hear. But do we have that?

What is the situation about your unfinished house in Abuja ?

I own no property in Abuja that is unfinished. The one I am living in now, I built it and it is completed. This is exactly what I am saying. Journalists should first investigate matters, not depend on hearsay, before they publish their stories.

Many Nigerians believe that the country is long overdue for a National Conference. What do you think? Would having a National Conference make a difference in the situation facing Nigeria today?

The call for a National Conference has been for a long time and it is long overdue. The National Assembly was not elected to write a new constitution.

To amend the constitution requires approval from 2/3 of the constituent assembly. It is impossible for any group of persons to preside over their own liquidation, which may account for why things are where they are today in Nigeria .

Section 308 of the constitution provides that most the elected officials are immune to prosecution after they leave office. Some of these people who never owned a house before they got into office now own mansions everywhere. What does that tell you? They are comfortable, they fear disruption of the bad system.

When you were in the Senate, did the question of National Conference and the amendment of the constitution ever come up?

It is like crying under the rain; nobody will know that you are crying. Much of the woes of the country, as far as the current situation is concerned, are as a result of our inability to act.

Of course, the question of constitutional amendment came up. But there was nothing the National Assembly can do if its members and the executive do not have the will.

Our constitution, in my view, is too big. Some things should have become mere laws and should not have been included in the constitution. This is just my opinion.

What is the difference between the Law and Constitution?

The Constitution is the broad base sacred guildline from where the Law is scripted.Our Constitution is too broad, so there are too many loopholes. Our Constitution requires serious panel-beating.

It is confusing to most Nigerians, and even to most Lawmakers, unlike the American Constitution which can fit into a pocket book. Some things are included in the Constitution that ought not belong there.

A good example is what the country is going through now. It should be against the Law for the President or anyone in authority to leave the country for a certain period of time without delegating his duties to his deputy or someone else. That sort of thing is what I am talking about.

If I can recollect, when President Bush underwent surgery, he handed over power to Cheney, even briefly. He did it because it was against the law not to do so; it was not a matter for debate. I believe Israel has 100 days absentee limit for its Presidents and elected officials.

President Clinton handed power briefly to Gore at one time because it was the law. Why can’t the same thing happen in Nigeria ? Are we so different from other democracies in the world? The President should have followed the 1999 Constitution and handed power to Goodluck Jonathan before leaving Nigeria , even for a brief moment.

Now that the Senate did not get a letter from the President, should Nigerians not expect the  Senate to do something about the current situation?

The Italian philosopher, Dante, said that “the hottest part of hell is reserved for those who during times of crisis maintain neutrality.”

The National Assembly can start the process of impeaching the President because a very important aspect of our Constitution has been breached and the people’s sentiments are weighing heavily against their elected officials.

A lot of concerned Nigerians are angry, as they rightfully should be, and want to do something about the situation. But Ken Nnamani will not recommend that path of action because those who advocate it do not have the guts to complete it.

So why start it. Do only what is achievable; that would be my recommendation. The National Assembly is an institution; it does only what is in the book, not what pleases its members.

The current situation in Nigeria is one in which the National Assembly, acting in concert, should bring pressure on the President to please adhere to the Constitution.

The citizens should demand full observance of the constitution from its elected officials. Since the President had the strength to sign the Presidential Appropriation Bill, he should also find the strength to sign a letter to hand over power to the Vice President.

The Federal Executive Council should demand that he quickly transmit a letter, as required by the constitution, to show leadership. Authority goes with responsibility. The council members should play the role which the constitution bestows on them.

Where do you place the ubiquitous governors in this our constitutional assault drama, and on whose behalf are they speaking? Are the governors supposed to speak on national issues?

Well, those who are supposed to speak are not speaking. A vacuum has been created and it is now free-for-all. The party is making statements, which it is not supposed to make. The President is not just for the party; the President is for all Nigerians, regardless of party.

The Council of States has not met since this incident started, so I don’t hold it against the governors speaking their minds. In a situation where everybody wants to be the leader, no one is leading. People who are supposed to talk are not talking. The Vice President should be talking, but he is not.

If power is handed over to the Vice President, does he then appoint a Deputy?

The Vice President does not need a Deputy. As long as the President is still alive, only absent, the Vice President does not need a Deputy. But if he takes over substantively, then he can appoint a Deputy; if the President reemerges, then he can take back his position.

Many are saying that the President’s signature on the Appropriation Bill may have been forged in his stead.

It begs the question of why can’t the same people who produced the signature also produce a signed letter from the President to save the country from total meltdown?

What if the president comes back in good health and says that he did not sign any letter?

I don’t think anybody wants to be blamed for doing such thing.
What is the procedure for appointing a Chief Justice in Nigeria ? And what is your position on the current situation?

When the President appoints someone, the appointment will be forwarded to the National Assembly for confirmation. It is not yet a valid appointment until it is confirmed by the Senate.

After the individual is confirmed, the Senate will then inform the President, who will then write a letter to the individual to announce his or her confirmation. In the letter to the President, the Senate must attach all the tallied votes and minutes of the proceedings.

But the President has been away for quite some time now. In this particular case, I am not aware that the president was still in Nigeria when the process was playing itself out. If the Senate confirmed him but the President has not issued him a letter, then Nigerians have reasons to be concerned.

What are your expectations of Nigeria ’s position in the world today based on the current situation? And the PDP’s boast of ruling for 60 years?

Although it shows every bit of what is wrong with the country today, I think it should be condemned. One of the things I know about Nigeria is that no one wants to die; no one wants to stand firm on what he or she believes to be the truth and is prepared to die for.

I hope that this incident will refocus positive attention on Nigeria , so that people all over the world will know how we do our own things, how we elect our leaders and sometimes let them do as they please. Let us emulate the good things in other countries, especially the United States , where hard work pays.

I do not subscribe to the philosophy of ruling the country for 60 years as do some people in PDP. This means that the elections have been won in advance. It is undemocratic.

Let the work of the party determine who should rule Nigeria . The question Nigerians should ask is: Are we better off than we were when PDP took over power? It is no longer a question of how long it ruled, but how well the country has fared since the party emerged.

My only concern is that we Nigerians like to lie to ourselves. Why are we lying to ourselves? The President has been away for a while now and yet some people are defending him for not delegating power to the Vice President.

Do Nigerians not have the right to know where their President is? What happened to video conferencing? Why can’t he at least say, “Happy New Year” to Nigerians via video conferencing? If he could muster the strength to sign the presidential appropriation bill as his aides are claiming, why not a quick hello to Nigerians? How hard can that be?